Hospitals in England will miss the A&E waiting time target for the year for the first time ever.

The Department of Health has admitted that repeated failure to meet the target of 95% of patients waiting four hours or less means it is no longer possible for the NHS to meet the standard for the whole of 2014/15.

Last week the trust just missed the 95% target by half a point with only 20 people waiting more than four hours.

Dr Sarah Pinto-Duschinksy, director of operations and delivery for NHS England, said staff had “pulled out all the stops” to provide “incredible” care for record levels of patients.

She said: “These record numbers - up by between 6% and 9% some weeks - mean that although the NHS won’t have met the A&E average 95% target for the full year, staff continued even during this busiest winter ever to treat more than nine in ten people within four hours.

“This is not only the best performance in the UK but probably of any major country internationally.

“These winter pressures underline the importance of the wider work under way as part of the NHS Urgent and Emergency Care Review which will deliver care in a more integrated way, better helping people get the right treatment, at the right time and in the right place.”